より〜ほうが
Compares two things or actions: B is more ~ than A. より marks A as the standard of comparison, while ほうが marks B as having more of the stated quality.
Verb (dictionary form)The basic form of a verb, as listed in a dictionary (non-past, affirmative).
行く・食べる・する・来る
Narrower than the plain form, which also covers 行かない・行った・行かなかった.
Verb (ta-form)The plain past form of a verb, ending in た／だ.
行った・食べた・した・来（き）た
Verb (dictionary form)The basic form of a verb, as listed in a dictionary (non-past, affirmative).
行く・食べる・する・来る
Narrower than the plain form, which also covers 行かない・行った・行かなかった.
Verb (ta-form)The plain past form of a verb, ending in た／だ.
行った・食べた・した・来（き）た
na-adj. stemA na-adjective without な, i.e. the form listed in a dictionary.
静か・きれい・好き
Add な before a noun (静かな部屋); as a predicate, follow it with だ／です (静かだ).
PredicateThe part of a sentence that says what the subject is, what it is like, or what it does. In Japanese it usually comes at the end.
私は学生だ：学生だ・空が青い：青い・雨が降る：降る
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This is a neutral, everyday comparison used in speech and writing. It compares degrees of a quality, including an undesirable one such as tiredness; ほうが identifies the side with more of that quality.
Note that の is required between a noun and ほう, but optional after a verb.
Learners may reverse the roles: より marks the comparison standard, while ほうが marks the side with more of the stated quality.
- 1.よりN5より can be used on its own in comparisons, as in 「AはBより〜」, simply marking the standard of comparison without highlighting the favored side. It can also mean 'from' a point in time or space in formal, written contexts — a use より〜ほうが does not have.
- 2.に比べてN3に比べて can contrast not only degrees but also differences in nature or category, with a more objective and slightly more formal tone; in writing it appears as 「に比べ」, and a verb must take 「の」 before it. When comparing degrees, the two are mostly interchangeable.
- 3.〜ほど〜ないN5ほど〜ない must end in a negative form and frames things as 'A falls short of B,' which sounds softer; the item with the higher degree goes before ほど. 「バスより電車のほうが速い」 can be rephrased as 「バスは電車ほど速くない」.
- 4.というよりN3より〜ほうが compares two things or two actions to state which one is greater, while というより does not rank them — it corrects the statement, saying B is a more fitting way to put it than A, and can also open a sentence as a conjunction. The two cannot be interchanged.
- 5.むしろN2むしろ carries a corrective, pick-one-over-the-other nuance and often overturns the general view; it can also rephrase a statement (「というよりむしろ」). It can be inserted into より〜ほうが for emphasis, but is not appropriate for plain degree comparisons.
- 6.にもましてN1にもまして is more literary and attaches only to nouns, question words, or demonstratives like 「それ」 — never to verbs or adjectives; it stresses that the latter surpasses the former, and 「何にもまして」 means 'more than anything....'
より alone marks the comparison standard; に比べて means “compared with,” and 〜ほど〜ない expresses “not as ~ as.” というより rephrases a description, むしろ means “rather,” and にもまして conveys “even more than.”
